


These Arms Are Made for Huggin'

by ButterflyApocalypse



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Angel Dust gets a bath, Angel gets lots of hugs, But there's radiodust if you squint, Definitely a gen fic, Did I mention hugs?, Fluff, Gen, Gift Fic, Hugs, M/M, and hugs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:55:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26486026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ButterflyApocalypse/pseuds/ButterflyApocalypse
Summary: The Quality of a Hug is Proportional to the Number of Arms Giving Them. 6 Arms = Fantastic HugsA.k.a a fic where Angel Dust gives and gets hugs, one way or another.Happy birthday to my favorite youngest cousin!!!! <3
Relationships: Alastor & Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), Alastor/Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), Angel Dust & Charlie Magne, Angel Dust & Husk (Hazbin Hotel), Angel Dust & Niffty (Hazbin Hotel), Angel Dust & Vaggie (Hazbin Hotel)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 153





	These Arms Are Made for Huggin'

**Author's Note:**

> For my cousin!
> 
> Angel: In light of what you’ve done for me, you can hug me for four-to-five seconds.  
> Charlie: FORTY-FIVE SECONDS?!?!?! :D  
> Angel: NO! FOUR _TO_ FIVE SECONDS!!!

“Ahem!” Angel Dust cleared his throat obnoxiously from where he was perched at the top of a grand staircase. He lounged extravagantly against the ornate railing, prepared for all eyes to turn to him. 

None did. 

Wait, wait Husk was looking-- no, he was just yawning. Well this just wouldn’t do! 

“I said, ‘AHEM!’” Angel repeated, louder. Again, nobody paid him any mind. He was gonna have to bring out the big guns… figuratively, of course. He’d only  _ barely  _ convinced Vaggie to let him keep his knife, he didn’t even want to imagine the headache of trying to argue for his firearms. “Hey! Pay attention, I’m about to do something embarrassing!” 

The hotel fell silent and Angel was on the receiving end of five rapt demonic stares. 

“That’s more like it, eh? What’s a guy gotta do for attention around here, Jesus,” Angel muttered. 

“Something embarrassing, it seems!” Alastor answered his rhetorical question. “Don’t keep us waiting. The audience is on the edge of their seats!” 

“I’m a tease, I’ll keep ‘the audience--’” Angel used all four hands to make air quotes. “Waiting as long as I please.” 

Husk shrugged, “Fine then, someone wake me up when he’s actually about to make a fool of himself-- er, a  _ bigger _ fool, ha! Haha!” Husk laughed at his own joke until he broke off into a coughing fit. 

“Hold your horses, I’m aboutta do it!” Angel snapped. He brushed off his shirt front and assumed his lean against the banister again. He began again. “Ahem! I have an announcement to make.” He paused for dramatic effect. 

“Just spit it out already!” Vaggie cried. Husk’s bottle shattered with frightening velocity at his feet (the glass shards were quickly cleared by Niffty). 

Yeesh, this was going almost as bad as his first performance in Hell (ya know, minus the sharks and dismembered fingers. Actually, on second thought, this didn’t compare to his first performance at all). 

“My  _ announcement, _ ” Angel continued, “in light of all the free stuff I’ve gotten, and also to signify my ‘growth’ as a ‘person,’ or whatever, I’ve decided… to start… eugh, ‘hugging’ people.” 

Alastor’s microphone let out a startled crowd gasp sound effect. 

“When you say ‘hugging,’ do you mean, like… platonic… friendly… non-sexual contact? For the purpose of expressing affection?” Vaggie asked skeptically. 

“Bingo bango bongo, baby!” He shot her some finger guns. “So! Who’s gonna be the first aboard the hug train? Choo-cho--” 

“Ooh! Ooh! Me! Me first!” Charlie squealed. She raced up the stairs and threw herself into Angel’s arms before he could react. The air was forced from his lungs and he clutched onto the railing for dear life-- or rather, dear death, as it was. 

“Can’t-- breathe--” he gasped out. 

Charlie couldn’t hear him, too busy babbling about ‘how proud she was of him,’ and ‘how wonderful this was,’ and how she was ‘adding hugs to the daily rehabilitation agenda.’ 

This was it, he was going to die again. There it was, the dark at the end of the tunnel. Double Hell, here he comes--

Miraculously, Charlie loosened her grip to grab the highest set of arms she could reach. Tears of joy welled in her eyes. 

“Thank you,” she said with so much sincerity, Angel wanted to barf. He almost wished she’d kept hugging him so he didn’t have to see this. “You--” She broke off to sniff. “You’ve really shown the world that redemption is possible, b-but most importantly… you’ve shown  _ me _ my dream is real.” 

“Uh, yeah… sure,” Angel Dust agreed, hoping to speed this whole process along. “Whoa, wHOA--” he protested when Charlie went in for another hug. Thankfully, this one was much softer. It was...almost nice. Almost. Yeah, he could probably deal with doing this several times a week. He looped an arm lazily around her back and awkwardly patted her hair. “It’s just a hug, don’t write me off as a saved soul just yet.”

“I know, I know,” Charlie said, stepping away. “But it still means a lot.” 

“Aw, hey, anything for you, Princess!” Angel punched her shoulder, all chummy-like. “Anyway! Now that the worst is out of the way, who’s next?” 

“Vaggie!” Charlie volunteered her girlfriend readily. 

“What? No!” Vaggie protested. 

“But  _ Vaggie, _ it’s for his redemption!” Charlie whined. In a loud whisper she added, “Plus, he’s  _ so soft.” _

Vaggie looked conflicted. “I…” 

Angel knew that look. That was a ‘I’m about to do whatever Charlie wants me to do because she’s giving me puppydog eyes.’ And really, he couldn’t blame her, Charlie’s pathos could be classified as psychological warfare. 

“Please Vaggie?” Charlie pouted. 

Vaggie growled in frustration. 

Angel opened his arms invitingly, waggling his eyebrows just to irritate her further. 

“Ugh! Fine! Fine! One  _ quick _ celebratory hug.” Vaggie marched over, sizing Angel up. She took a deep breath, reached forward-- and Angel pulled her against his chest, nuzzling his cheek into her hair. 

“Aww, Vaggie, how  _ sweet _ of you!” he cooed. 

Vaggied yelled in outrage and thrashed to extract herself from Angel’s multi-armed grasp. “Knock it off!”

“Hey, hey, keep your knives sheathed!” Angel Dust held up his hands in surrender. “You know you liked it.”

“No way,” Vaggie huffed. 

“Aw, c’mon. I’ve been reliably informed my fluffy spider chest is  _ great _ to rest your head on!” He adjusted his jacket to emphasize the fur.

“No  _ thank _ you,” Vaggie said sharply.

Her loss. You know, he really didn’t understand why Charlie liked such a foul-tempered, sour--

As she stormed away, she called, “Husk! Hug the spider or I’m revoking your booze.” 

He took back everything bad he’d ever said about her. Clearly, she was a saint who’d been sent to Hell by mistake.  _ What _ a  _ solid!  _

“You heard the broad!” Angel couldn’t stop an enormous grin from spreading across his face. “The hug train is pulling in to Kitty Station!”

Husk’s permanent frown deepened. “You have  _ got  _ to be kidding me.”

“I  _ never _ kid about hugs,” Angel promised. “Not to  _ you, _ anyway.”

Husk’s surly expression dropped into one of trepidation. 

From behind Angel, Alastor’s familiar voice was saccharine. “Do it, Husker.” 

“Fine! Fine!” Husk sat his new bottle down, hopping over the counter. “It’s for the booze. It’s for the booze.” He opened his arms, looking away. 

Biting back a squeal, Angel wrapped six arms around Husk. He snuck in a couple of pets to his wings. 

“This is nice,” he hummed. “We should do this more often. You know, Kitty, if you like this, there’s much more where this came from--” Angel gasped at the gut punch he received. “Not nice! Not nice! Vaggie, Husk punched me!” 

“Better him than me,” Vaggie said airily. “I have brass knuckles.”

Angel gulped. “Right.” 

“Okay, who’s next?” Charlie asked, clapping her hands together and looking pointedly at Alastor. His toothy grin didn’t falter, but his eyes narrowed threateningly. Charlie cleared her throat. “Where’s Niffty?”

“I’ll get her,” said Vaggie, grabbing the bottle Husk was reaching for and smashing it on the ground. 

“Hey!” Husk sputtered indignantly. “I was gonna drink that!” 

Vaggie sighed and wordlessly passed him a new one. 

Angel could hear the rapid pattering of Niffty approaching. The moment she appeared, broom in hand, he pounced, gathering her against his chest. 

“Hah! Got you!” he whooped, spinning around. 

Niffty shrieked, flailing her petite limbs. “No, no, no! Put me down, I’m not into women!” 

Angel Dust laughed derisively. “Join the club, neither am I!” 

“Then  _ why _ are you doing this?” Niffty continued to squirm against his hold. She sniffed several times. “And-- ugh, why do you  _ smell _ so bad?” 

At that, Angel opened his arms and dropped her on the ground, allowing her to scamper off. “I don’t stink!” he called after her. “It’s not even been a  _ month _ since I showered. I could smell  _ way  _ worse, believe me!” 

“Ew.” Vaggie curled her lip. 

“You heard it here first,” Alastor announced. “That is  _ revolting.” _

Niffty reappeared holding an armful of cleaning supplies. “Stay still!” she ordered. 

Angel backed away. “Whoa, there, what are you doing with that spray bottle--” 

Niffty set to work, dousing him in sprays and disinfectants and-- was that  _ bug spray? _

Angel was hacking and coughing by the time she stepped back to admire her handiwork. “Hm, still missing something…” she disappeared and reappeared before Angel Dust could blink. This time, she was holding perfume. 

“Uh-uh, uh-uh, no way, you’ll mask my natural pheromones!” 

There was a resounding,  _ “Good,” _ from the rest of the hotel’s occupancy. 

“There,” Niffty said when she was done  _ ruining Angel Dust’s hard-earned eau du red-light district.  _ “Now you smell less like a sweaty jockstrap and more like a sweaty sock laying somewhere near some flowers.”

“Gee, thanks,” Angel snarked. “Did you put a  _ ribbon  _ on my head?”

“I thought it added a nice touch,” Niffty hmphed. 

“It does indeed, my dear!” Alastor consoled her. It was difficult to tell with the smiley demon, but Angel suspected he was being laughed at. 

“Thank you,” she sniffed. “At least  _ someone _ has good taste in here.”

Angel snorted. “Really? Who? ‘Cause it ain’t any of you, and I’d deck someone if they accused me of ‘having taste.’”

“I have taste…” Charlie pouted. 

Angel Dust shrugged. “Maybe in concept, but babe, you gave that up when you chose to spend time with the likes of us.”

“No, that’s not--” Charlie started, breaking off when Vaggie placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking her head. 

“That is a fair assessment!” Alastor chuckled. “My eye is solely for entertainment. The company is an unfortunate side effect.”

“Well, well, well,” Angel started, cocking his hip. “I happen to  _ be  _ entertainment. Heard you had an eye for me?” He winked. 

“The only way you’ll get an eye from me is if it’s someone else’s,” Alastor answered, glib. 

“Like a gift?” Angel asked. “‘Cause that’s getting into some dangerous, romantic territory, and I just wanna warn you now--”

Alastor cut him off. “Nothing of that sort, my good fellow.”

Angel shrugged. “Oh well.”

Charlie cleared her throat. “Well, um,  _ speaking _ of romance-- or,  _ non- _ romance, I was thinking that it would be, you know, good if… well, if  _ everyone _ gave Angel a hug. To celebrate his progress. You know.” She wasn’t looking directly at Alastor this time, but her gaze did continually creep in his direction. 

From behind Alastor, Vaggie was making desperate ‘no’ motions. 

Charlie ignored her. “I mean, the rest of us did  _ our _ parts--” she yelped when Vaggie grabbed her to drag her away. 

“Hey hon, let’s  _ not _ force the  _ Radio Demon _ to hug Angel Dust,” she hissed. 

“Aw, don’t worry about it,” Angel said as he sprawled across a sofa. “Smiles is probably just scared he’ll enjoy it. It’s okay, we can’t force these situations. He’ll come get it when he’s ready.” 

“Scared?” Alastor repeated. “I have to laugh!” A laugh track accompanied his cackle. “No, ‘fear’ is not the issue. ‘Disgust,’ Yes. Perhaps ‘revulsion?’ ‘Distaste?’”

“Fair,” Angel said. 

“No, Angel! You’re not disgusting!” Charlie protested. “Al, that’s a mean thing to say. Niffty just washed him, he won’t leave any residue if you hug him.”

“Perhaps not, my darling,” Alastor conceded. 

“Then what’s the hold up?” Husk’s gruff voice demanded. “I’ve never taken you for the prissy type.”

Niffty appeared, hands on her hips. “Are you telling me I did all that work for nothing?”

_ “I _ coulda told you that,” Angel muttered. 

“Al,  _ really _ how hard could one one itsy bitsy hug be?” Charlie wheedled. 

“Yeah, ‘Al,’ an itsy bitsy hug for the itsy bitsy spider!” Angel threw his head back and laughed. 

Charlie slapped a hand over his mouth-- rude-- and continued. “You said you wanted to help with the hotel! Hugging Angel Dust is  _ essential _ for his redemption! And who’s to say it won’t be, um… entertaining?” 

“It’ll be hella entertaining for us,” Husk sniggered. “And hey, you know what they say; the closer they are to redemption, the more it’ll hurt when they fall from-- er… however that saying goes.” 

“I don’t think that’s a saying at all,” Niffty mused.

Charlie seized the opportunity, nodding emphatically. “Every hug for Angel is another rung up on the ladder to his redemption!”

Alastor followed. “You’re proposing a hug as an investment in further entertainment.”

“Absolutely!” Charlie promised.

Alastor considered this. “Hmm, it  _ would _ be delightful to watch him metaphorically fall into despair from a great moral height.” From behind Charlie’s  _ shockingly strong grip, _ Angel whined in protest.

“Uh, …yeah…” Charlie agreed, much less enthusiastically. She quickly perked up again. “So you’ll hug him? Help him cliiiiimb up that moral ladder?” 

Alastor swiveled on his heel, walking away, “No.” 

“B-but!” Charlie’s lip quivered. 

Alastor was not swayed, exiting the main lounge. 

Charlie’s pout turned grumpy. She shifted her hands from covering Angel’s mouth to squish his cheeks. She stared intensely into his eyes. 

“Don’t worry Angel Dust. I  _ will _ get you that hug,” she promised darkly. 

He glanced at Vaggie for help. “Hey, hey, it’s really not a big deal, so, I’ll just--”

Charlie pressed her forehead into his, eyes boring down. “You’re. Getting. That. Hug.”

“Yes ma’am.” Angel held his hands up in surrender. As he watched Charlie’s determined march down the hallway after Alastor, he muttered, “Yeesh.” 

Vaggie groaned, covering her face. 

“What’s she gonna do?” Angel cocked an eyebrow. 

The tiredness in the glare Vaggie fixed him with did nothing to quell his curiosity, but did effectively shut him up.

For the first time since the whole hullabaloo with Hell’s Top Demon showing up at the doorstep, the hotel was completely silent. Niffty had paused her frantic cleaning, Husk looked fully awake, Vaggie seemed to be holding her breath. All eyes were fixed on the dark of the hallway where Charlie and Alastor had disappeared. 

Out of the silence came the sound of stiffly approaching footsteps. 

Alastor reentered the lounge, expression neutral. 

Angel whistled. “Whoa, that’s creep-- WHOA!!” To Angel’s complete shock, Alastor wrenched him off the couch and gracelessly wrapped his arms around Angel’s middle, tucking his chin over his shoulder. 

Charlie was beaming, hands clasped together. “See, isn’t it wonderful?”

Angel gave Al’s shoulder a bemused pat. “Uh, hey, question? What’d you do to him?” The Radio Demon was completely silent, completely still. 

Charlie snorted. “I can’t  _ tell _ you, what if I need to use it on you?”

“Hey, hey, no, that will never be necessary. I respond much better to bribery than threats,” he said. “But seriously, is he still alive? Hello?” Alastor had not moved a muscle. Angel dared to bring a hand up to prod at Alastor’s hair and/or ears. He really wasn’t sure which they were. They were surprisingly soft. 

Actually, the entire hug was surprisingly gentle. Out of all the hugs he’d received, despite being received under the most duress, this felt the most genuine. Charlie’s had been far too much, Vaggie’s was over before it’d begun, Husk’s ended in a punch, Niffty’s ended in a  _ bath, _ but this? It was nice. 

Hm. This was a bad idea. Angel knew he hated being squeezed, being restrained, but being… held? He was liking this  _ way _ too much. He could  _ feel  _ his soul ascending without his telling it to. His brain felt like it was filling with static and he felt so calm. It was unnatural. He was going to have to ‘reflect’ on this later. 

“Alrighty then, I think that’s more than enough redemption for one day!” Angel said, wrenching Alastor’s arms from around his torso. Alastor’s expression was mostly back to normal, but he was starting to look, ya know, kinda ‘glitchy’ in that way that made him hard to look at. “Yep! Definitely enough soul-saving for me! I’ll just, uh--” Angel scurried away. 

“Wait!” Charlie called, hurrying after him. “One more hug!” 

“You’ve already had two,” Angel said, rolling his eyes, but opening his arms obligingly. Charlie tucked herself against him, grinning like an idiot-- but, like, a nice idiot. 

“I’m so proud of you,” she whispered. “Thank you.”

“Ehh, don’t mention it.” Angel was going for nonchalant, but he’d give himself a 7.5/10 on delivery. He should work on that more. 

Charlie stepped away, eyes sparkling. “From now on, we’ll do daily hugs!” 

Angel frowned. “Monthly. Max.”

“Three times a week?” Charlie haggled. 

“The most I’ll do is weekly. Twice for you if you let pasta night be a thing,” Angel said. “That’s my final offer, don’t push it, or you’ll get nada.” 

Charlie nodded ebulliently. With a cheer, she skipped back to the lounge. “Good news everyone, we’re replacing jambalaya night with pasta night--” 

Angel Dust shook his head fondly. What had he gotten himself into? He was doing things fondly now? Yeesh, maybe he was really getting redeemed.

Even so, he thought as he wandered back to the peace and solitude of his room, it wasn’t all that bad. A real smile tugged at his mouth when he remembered the antics caused by simple hugs (and maybe his chest felt a little warm too). 

_ Gross, _ said his brain. But somewhere deep inside of him, the shriveled remains of his soul said quite the opposite. 

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, happy birthday to my babiest cousin!! I hope you enjoyed reading and have a wonderful b-day!! <3  
> 


End file.
